Closings

Severe Weather

Celebrities have tax troubles, too

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, one of the stars of MTV's "Jersey Shore" series,was indicted in September 2014 for failing to pay taxes on $8.9 million in income. Sorrentino and his brother are charged with falsifying their business and personal tax returns between 2010 and 2012. He's seen here arriving for a court appearance in Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 23, 2014.

Eight-time Grammy-winner Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty in the summer of 2012 to not paying federal taxes on more than $1.5 million earned over three years. She was eventually sentenced to three months in prison and served all but a few days of her sentence, being released for good behavior on October 4, 2013. She also had to pay $970,000 in back taxes and penalties and spend another three months in home confinement.

In 2006, Ron Isley (left), the lead singer and founding member of the R&B and funk group the Isley Brothers, known for songs such as "Shout," "Twist and Shout," "That Lady" and "It's Your Thing," was convicted of tax evasion charges and sentenced to three years and one month in prison. He completed his sentence on April 13, 2010.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne faced a lien on their $12 million California home after owing back taxes of $718,948 from 2008 and $1 million from 2009. The couple announced in April 2012 that they had paid their outstanding taxes.

Actor Wesley Snipes was convicted of willfully failing to pay taxes from 1999-2001. He began serving a three-year prison sentence in 2010 and was released on April 6, 2013.

Blaming bad management and failed real estate deals, Nicolas Cage found himself owing the IRS $14 million in back taxes. The actor paid $6.25 million in 2012, leaving him with more than $7 million owed in back taxes, but is slowly chipping away at his tax debt.

In 2007, Marc Anthony was ordered to pay $2.5 million in back taxes for failing to file tax returns from 2000 to 2004. Then in 2010, New York authorities filed a demand for $1.8 million in back taxes and the IRS placed a $1.6 million lien on his property. In January 2011, he settled the more recent tax problems.

In 2009, former "Baywatch" beauty and Playboy model Pamela Anderson received a $1.7 million lien from the IRS. The state of California also filed a $252,360 tax lien against her in Los Angeles.

The Internal Revenue Service filed documents with the L.A. County Recorder's Office in July 2010 that showed "Rush Hour" star Chris Tucker owed $11,571,909.26 in federal taxes for the years 2001, 2002 and 2004 through 2006. In 2012, the state of Georgia added another $592,594.82 tax lien for the year 2007. According to TMZ, he paid the state of Georgia nearly $1 million in 2013 to cover the tax lein and another previously unreported lein against him.

After pleading guilty to two charges of filing false income tax returns not showing income he received from selling autographs and memorabilia, and from horse racing winnings, Pete Rose served five months in prison in 1990-1991.

Country singer Willie Nelson, aka "The Red-Headed Stranger," became friends with the IRS in 1993 when he settled a $16 million delinquent tax bill. The tax evasion nightmare began in 1990 for Nelson, which cost him nearly all of his personal belongings (which many fans and friends bought at auctions and gave back to him). Nelson also released the album "The IRS Tapes: Who Will Buy My Memories," and its profits were directed to the IRS.

O.J. Simpson's doing jail time for his role in an armed confrontation over sports memorabilia, but that's not his only problem. He was named on a list issued by the state of California in 2007 for owing $1.4 million in personal income taxes, with a tax lien dating back to 1999.

Singer Dionne Warwick declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 21, 2013, reportedly due to the mismanagement of her business affairs. She listed liabilities of nearly $7 million owed to the IRS for the years 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California.

Life's not always a good thing for lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. In 1994, Stewart was ordered by the state of New York to pay $200,000 in state taxes. Stewart claimed that she wasn't responsible to pay the bill since she was only a part-time resident of the state.

World famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti was convicted of tax evasion in 1999, and ordered to pay $11 million to the Italian Courts. He was again accused of tax evasion by his hometown of Modena in 2001. The opera star was acquitted of the charges and spared what would have been an $18 million fine.

Boxing promoter Don King was charged with tax evasion in 1991, but a mistrial was declared after one of the jurors admitted to reading an article about possible jail time for such an offense. He was later charged with nine counts of insurance fraud, of which he was acquitted.

Not wanting to be one of "the little people" who pay taxes, billionaire Leona Helmsley and her husband withheld millions in tax revenue. She was sentenced to almost two years in prison along with a $7 million fee in 1990. Rumor indicates that she had money smuggled into prison for the purpose of paying an inmate to be her servant.

Redd Foxx filed for bankruptcy protection in 1983, but that didn't stop the IRS from raiding his Las Vegas home and seizing his possessions to pay off $3 million he owed in back taxes, interest and penalties. He remained in the hole until his death in 1991.

Comedian Richard Pryor's tumultuous career included an arrest for tax evasion in June 1974. He served 10 days in the Los Angeles County Jail for the offense, and teamed with comedian Flip Wilson to throw a benefit concert for the jail's 300 inmates soon after.

Becoming the first "Survivor" winner came at a cost for Richard Hatch, who in 2006, was convicted for failing to pay taxes on his $1 million paycheck. As a result, Hatch was sentenced to a 51 months in prison. However, in March 2011, he received another nine months in prison for violating the terms of his release by failing to file federal income tax returns.

Sammy Davis Jr. owed nearly $7.5 million in back taxes at the time of his death. It took his widow seven years to work out a settlement.

Legendary singer-songwriter Chuck Berry was charged with tax evasion in 1979. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to perform 1,000 hours worth of benefit shows after serving four months in prison.

In 1982, legendary actress Sophia Loren spent 18 days in an Italian prison for not paying taxes in her home country.

"Crocodile Dundee" star Paul Hogan has long been fighting the Australian government over his taxes. When he flew to Sydney in August 2010, the government first blocked him from leaving, claiming he owed taxes on A$37.5 million of undeclared income. He was eventually allowed to leave and was later cleared of tax evasion charges.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.